Frustrated with the bone-jarring condition of North Territorial Road in northeastern Washtenaw County, residents who live along the busy country thoroughfare have taken matters into their own hands.
More than 600 people have signed a petition that’s been sitting for several months at Edith’s Market -- a small convenience store at Pontiac Trail and North Territorial Road in Salem Township.
The residents feel Washtenaw County officials owe them a solution to the problem.
However, the answer may not come until the Michigan legislature hammers out a solution to increase funding for roadwork.
Bob Hlavacek of Salem Township signed the petition and was one of the eight residents that came to the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners meeting May 1 to present them with the documents.
North Territorial Road at Stewart Lane in Northfield Township.
Amy Biolchini | AnnArbor.com
The petition states: “We the undersigned demand action from Washtenaw County Road Commission and Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners to allocate funds to make repairs to North Territorial Road in the spring and summer of 2013,” said Edith’s Market owner Mike Marouf in a phone interview.
“North Territorial from Spencer to Ridge has been eroding for over five years,” Marouf said. “The road surface is so rough that light vehicles can bounce out of control.”
North Territorial Road often serves as a detour for motorists when accidents or heavy traffic cause severe congestion on U.S. 23. It’s also a major east-west route that connects Plymouth to U.S. 23 and other points in Washtenaw County.
Between 4:30 and 6 p.m., the road is “wall-to-wall traffic,” said Salem Township resident Arlene DeForest in her comments to the board during the May 1 meeting.
DeForest owns a dairy farm. The large industrial milk trucks that deliver her product to market have difficulty navigating North Territorial Road, DeForest said, putting her business in jeopardy.
“People drive over the center line and they dodge back and forth trying to avoid the roughest spots,” Hlavacek said. “The Northfield Township police are not happy about it - they’ve stopped people for (what they thought was) intoxicated driving.”
Commissioner Dan Smith, R-Northfield Township, said he’s heard similar complaints from residents about the road when he’s stopped by Edith’s Market before.
“We’re all aware that we have some new options that the legislature provided us in terms of how we manage the roads in this county,” Smith said in reference to the possibility of levying a countywide road tax.
North Territorial Road near Pinecrest Estates Drive in Salem Township.
Amy Biolchini | AnnArbor.com
“The Road Commission struggles with the extremely high cost of repairing some of these roads where the road bed has deteriorated beyond repair,” Smith said. “This road is really in poor shape. The funds just aren’t there to bring it up to the snuff that we need. It creates a safety issue as these folks have said.”
Bill Farley of Salem Township said it’s difficult to understand how road money is allocated to various projects, as the Washtenaw County Road Commission recently announced the construction of a roundabout at Seven Mile Road and Pontiac Trail in Salem Township that Farley said he didn’t think was as needed as improvements on North Territorial.
“(North Territorial is) not even close to being a road,” Farley said. “It’s beyond what you can believe and it’s just not right.”
Roy Townsend, managing director of the Road Commission, said April 30 there have been quite a few residents who have contacted them regarding North Territorial Road conditions over the past through weeks.
The road has been on the Road Commission’s list of unfunded projects for quite some time -- and it made a list of projects that the Road Commission could fix should the state find a way to increase funding for roads in Michigan.
For the past several years, the Road Commission’s resurfacing program has not been funded. In its stead, federal money has been used for some resurfacing projects - but that money comes with strict limitations, Townsend said.
“You can resurface good and fair roads to keep them in that condition,” Townsend said of the limitations.
North Territorial Road is a primary road and is in such bad condition that it doesn’t qualify for the use of those federal dollars, Townsend said.
“Roads in that condition require shoulder work including ditch work and tree removal,” Townsend said.
Commissioner Rolland Sizemore Jr., D-Ypsilanti Township, acknowledged during the May 1 meeting that there was a problem with North Territorial Road but said it wasn’t the only road in the county that needed significant improvements.
Willis Road in Sizemore’s district is also a roadway that many have complained about, he said.
“You guys aren’t the only ones that have trouble with roads,” Sizemore said in response to Hlavacek and Farley. “I will work with you, but there are a lot of roads in this county in a lot of bad shape.”
Commissioner Andy LaBarre, D-Ann Arbor, suggested the residents share their struggles and petition with their state representative and senator.
County Administrator Verna McDaniel and Commissioner Sizemore said May 1 they would work with the Road Commission to arrange a meeting between the citizens from the North Territorial Road area.
In 2011, Townsend said resurfacing North Territorial Road was among a list of projects that the Road Commission brought before the Board of Commissioners to request help in funding them.
In 2011, the board declined, Townsend said. In 2012, North Territorial was again on a list of unfunded projects the Road Commission presented to the Board of Commissioners - but it was more as an item of information, Townsend said.
“Everyone’s well aware that we need to do something,” Townsend said. “The frustrating part for us is that roads are not a partisan issue.”
View North Territorial Road in a larger map
Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.